Earlier this week, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast released a joint statement in which they revealed that they fully support James Gunn and would like to see him reinstated as the third instalment's director. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as of that's done much good based on a new report from Variety.
Apparently, multiple insiders have told the trade that Disney currently has no plans to reverse it's decision so he will not be rehired. Why? Well, "The feeling within both Disney and Marvel is that the dozens of so-called jokes that Gunn made about pedophilia and rape are unacceptable in the #MeToo era and are not in line with Disney’s family-friendly image."
It's also thought that the cast will ultimately return to the series regardless of how they feel about Disney's decision because they're under contract and would face legal action for refusing to reprise their roles. Bear in mind that none of them have threatend to quit thus far! It's said that Gunn's firing was approved by Disney Studios Boss Alan Horn before CEO Bob Iger made the final decision. "I don’t see Disney re-hiring him," says one person close to the matter. "Those tweets were so horrible and Disney has a different standard then other studios." It's also said that the studio was unaware of the Tweets before they resurfaced.
As for a replacement, it doesn't sound like Disney is in any rush and they're willing to wait for the right A-List director. However, Jon Favreau (Iron Man), Talks Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), and the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War) have all been rumoured to take over Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; the only problem with that is that they're all busy and so Disney could look further afield.
What happens from here? For now, I guess we'll all have to wait and see...
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